


Whoops,,, Guess That Happened

by skiewhampus_times_call_for_shenigans



Series: A Bit of Murder Mystery [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Accidental crime, Accidentally Abducted, Adventure, Canon Universe, Eventual Romance, F/M, Original Character-centric, Self-Insert OC, oc-insert, where chaotic dumbasses gather together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-15 22:35:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28946001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skiewhampus_times_call_for_shenigans/pseuds/skiewhampus_times_call_for_shenigans
Summary: What do you do when a random civilian get's annoyed with you and shows you how to properly break open a vault? Well, apparently the answer for Eustass Captain Kid is to kidnap them.Whoops.Another note, this is a self-insert oc. I do have other works on a different profile, just wanted to keep the self-insert separate.
Relationships: Killer (One Piece)/Original Character(s), Killer (One Piece)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: A Bit of Murder Mystery [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2171295
Comments: 24
Kudos: 35





	1. Time to Learn

Mystic glared at the wall, too pissed to do or think about anything. Things were not going well, nor did they appear they would get better anytime soon. Sure, following a bunch of pirates to watch a robbery might not have been the smartest move, but she hadn't anticipated she would end up being brought along.

Plus, whatever the heck had happened afterward. She still couldn't process it.

Someone knocked on the door, but she kept quiet. She found no point in talking when she was this upset.

"I'm coming in."

The door creaked open, and a large man shuffled into the small closet. Well, it was small for him. Mystic was the size of a _normal_ person, so she fit into the small space easily. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw golden locks brushing the back of the incomer's knees. She'd only seen one man on this stupid ship with that much golden hair.

Killer crouched down, blue and white mask tilting as he regarded her. Her hair had nearly finished drying, and she wore one of his shirts and a pair of pants with a sash around the waist to keep them tied on. Given that he was the shortest person aboard (and yet he still towered nearly 30 cm over her), he'd lent her some clothes until her's dried.

She didn't turn her head, but after a few minutes of him silently watching her, she finally flicked her eyes over at him.

"This is less than ideal for everyone involved." It sounded weird to her when Killer talked, the slightly muffled echo his voice carried as he spoke through his mask. "Here. Look through that. See if any of them look familiar, or if you've experienced any of the phenomena in here." He offered a book out to her. Mystic didn't move, just flicked her eyes away again. He dropped the book next to her, then a second one on top with a pencil.

"For notes." He added, then stood up again. "We're adding you to the chore roster tomorrow. Everyone has to pull their weight."

Mystic felt something in her deflate, and she lightly nodded. And then he was gone.

Mystic closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. She didn't want to think. There were too many thoughts going in too many places for her to process. She eyed the two books Killer had left for her.

_For notes, eh?_ Mystic picked up the book on top and flipped through the pages. It was a small leather-bound book with blank pages, and only the first couple of pages had been used so far. The notes looked like they had to do with some recipes. She offered a silent apology and thanks to whoever had lent her the book. Though by these pirates' attitudes, they probably didn't have much of a choice in the matter. The second book she poked at, annoyance rising again. The cover read The Devil Fruit Encyclopedia.

Never did she ever think she would be browsing through this book for anything besides light reading. And yet, she had no other explanation for earlier. At least this would be a good distraction. Though, maybe she ought to write about what happened. Mystic knew that the way she processed things the best was by writing them down. She knew her mind wouldn't be settling anytime soon anyway.

She left a few blank pages between what was already in the notebook and where she started writing. Where should she start? Probably when she first encountered the Kid Pirates. That was what triggered this whole situation. Thinking back, she really didn't know why she had made the choices she had, just plowed ahead as usual. This was going to take a while to write down.


	2. Short on Time

“Mystic, will you take table four their drinks, and let them know their food will be out shortly?” Her aunt offered her a tray loaded with several tankards. “There’s a problem upstairs, something about a giant duck.”

Mystic stopped kneading the bread dough in surprise. "A giant duck?"

"That's what they said." Her aunt shook her head. "Honestly, we have a barn for a reason!"

Mystic nodded and dusted the excess flour from her hands, accepting the tray from her aunt before the short woman strode off. She wasn't going to question a giant duck beyond making sure she had heard correctly. She'd just be grateful her aunt was handling it, and not her.

Balancing the tray on one hand, she carefully pushed the door of the kitchen open and confidently strode through the dining hall to table four. She smiled brightly to hide her unease as she saw who the customers of table four were.

Four very tall, very _loud_ men.

They all had quite an… interesting… sense of fashion. It was hard to decide if it was so bad it was good, or just plain bad. The tallest of all of them towered over her even though he was sitting, a dark hood over his head and a harness thingy instead of a shirt. Another had light blue hair with thorn tattoos around his neck and arms, along with a corset vest. The man with the curly blonde mohawk had the most normal clothes, but she couldn't tell without staring if the lines over his eyes were tattoos or scars. The last one wore small round sunglasses and a massive furry coat, which could pass for normal if not for his bright orange mohawk. _To each his own_ , she supposed.

Mystic vaguely remembered her aunt mentioning that they had some pirates in tonight. _Crap, this must be them!_

“Evenin’ y'all,” she avoided meeting their eyes, easily excusable as she carefully distributed the tankards around the table. “Here are y’all's drinks, and I’ll have your dinner out soon.” The one in the furry coat cackled and chugged his drink, while the other three completely ignored her and continued their conversation. “Let me know if you need anything.” She turned on her heel and retreated as quickly as possible. 

Back in the safety of the kitchen, Mystic adjusted her apron and joined her uncle and cousin at the stoves. She quickly looked over the order notes and what her uncle already had cooking. 

“I’ll get the onion and squash going,” She set a pan on a burner and put in some oil to heat up.

“Can you pass me the thyme and rosemary?” Her uncle asked from over a pot of soup. She searched through the bundles of dried herbs hanging from the ceiling, grabbed the two he wanted, and tossed them as soon as he looked her way. Mystic soon had the vegetables chopped and sizzling in the pan, before passing custody of the pan to her cousin in order to deliver the next round of meals. 

A basket of buns and bowls of soup to table two, chicken and potatoes to table seven, and some pie to table five. As she dodged past table four, they barked at her, asking for another round of drinks. 

_It’s only been what, five minutes?_ Mystic confirmed their request with a smile and brought the next round out to their table.

“Boss! Killer-san! What took ya so damn long?” Mystic yipped and jumped when the ginger yelled right behind her. It was a miracle she kept the drinks from spilling everywhere. The one in the hood was chuckling, the others she supposed hadn't noticed. She quickly stuffed the last of the glasses on her tray and began to leave, only to notice the two men approaching.

One had fiery red hair spiked impossibly high. He was bare-chested and wearing the ugliest pants she'd ever seen with a maroon coat thrown over his bare shoulders. The massive mechanical arm also was quite the eye-catcher. His companion interestingly wore a white and blue mask with air and seeing holes in it, a plain black shirt, large metal gauntlets on his forearms, and jeans with chaps and boots. His long, thick blonde hair fell far past his butt and nearly reached his knees. It actually wasn't a bad look, but he still fit right in with his wildly dressed friend.

Oh, dang it, they were approaching table four, which was definitely not large enough to accommodate the two new additions to their party.

"Give better directions, asshole, and pick up the damn Den Den Mushi when I call!" The red-head barked. "Been wandering around this shit-hole trying to find you. Could you have picked anywhere harder to find?"

"I'm sorry, will they be joining you?" Mystic asked the man with the blue hair, who nodded silently. The red-head and masked man glared impatiently at her. "Apologies, I was unaware that you had two more in your party. I'll bring up another table and some chairs." The red-head complained as she picked up an empty table and slid it against the end of the other table, then hurriedly brought two chairs over and set them down for the two men, who were quick to join in their friend's conversation.

"Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

"Whiskey," The red-head barked, then eyed the table across from him. "And a lot of whatever they're having."

The masked man waved her off. "Pass."

She gave a short bow and retreated to the kitchen. She didn't want to be around the irritated red-head longer than necessary.

"We need some bock-bocks and tates on table four and a lot of it."

"How much is a lot?"

"No idea," She emptied her tray of dishes next to the sink. "But this guy is big, and he asked for a lot, so we're gonna give it to him."

"That still doesn't tell me how much to make." Her uncle snipped.

Mystic growled and narrowed her eyes. She ran numbers through her head, calculating and estimating amounts of food compared to her past experience. She counted out several large potatoes on the counter and pulled out several chickens from their cooler until the amount looked about right. "That should be good, even if he doesn't drink a lot."

Thankfully her uncle didn't argue with her, just started up the dish. She did have her slip-ups every now and again, but she had a head for this when she was focused.

Her aunt then walked back in, dusting feathers off of herself, though she missed several on her back and in her hair. "The duck situation has been resolved! Thank you Mystic, you can get back to your dough now."

"Whiskey to table four, they added two to their party." She let her aunt know before returning to her original project. The dough needed to finish being shaped so it could be cooked in the morning. The pirates quickly slipped from her mind as she got back into her groove. There was too much to do to just spend time dwelling on strangers who only stopped in for a bite.

* * *

The next day was Friday, and Friday night was Mystic's night to manage the dining area. She typically worked during the day and had the evening off (except for extra food preparation on occasion), but her aunt had asked her to try taking on one night a week. The chaos was a bit much at first, but with time she'd grown into the job very well, and would sometimes take extra nights when her aunt wanted an evening off.

Tonight was no different, the tables were packed and customers kept streaming in. Thankfully, a family had just vacated and she was quickly cleaning up the table to make way for new diners. It was just the right size for a group who had been waiting nearly half an hour, and-

Someone dropped into one of the chairs and threw their legs up on the table. Mystic wasn't sure if she was more shocked or annoyed. _Who has the audacity to throw their feet on a table as I'm cleaning it, without even asking if they could have this- oh._ Her eyes met the sharp orange eyes of the red-head from the night before, and he leaned back in the chair.

"The fuck are you waiting for? Bring out our drinks." He ordered as his crewmates filled the seats.

 _What the crAP?_ _Who do they think they are?_ Mystic did a quick check over the room. Did she try to kick them out, or make the customers wait even longer? It wouldn't be good for her reputation if she let something like this slide. She couldn't make exceptions, not even for stupid pirates who thought they owned the place. _Oh wait, were those folks at the best table leaving early?_ Thank heavens, she could work with that.

"Would you prefer to sit here, or at the best table in the house?" She gestured to the now vacant table at the head of the hall. It was set closest to the hearth over a thick bear-skin rug, with ornate carvings in the dark walnut of the table and matching cushioned chairs.

The red-head considered the table to his current sitting, then dropped his feet from the tabletop. He approached the table and scrutinized it, dragging his human hand across the surface. Mystic held her breath; if he broke that table, she swore-

He dropped into the seat at the head of the table, and the crew rose from the first table to join him. _Thank goodness!_

Mystic called over her waiter and listed off the drinks they had ordered the night before, telling him to bring them out first. With a quick wipe final wipe where the red-head had propped his feet up, she gestured to the customers that the table was theirs.

Now to just-

"Hey, squeaky! You going to clean this shit up?"

... Was he talking to her? Why was he calling her squeaky?

"Shorty! Mousey! Midget! Tiny little bitch with the not-so-little ass!" _Wow, isn't he creative?_

Mystic took a deep breath. The log pose reset for the island was only three days. They'd be out of here soon enough.

Silently, she approached their table and cleared the dishes, and wiped the surface off with just enough time for their drinks to arrive.

"Alright, squeaky, I'll have-"

"I'll have you relay your order to Heath, he'll be your waiter this evening. Thank you for joining us again tonight." And she booked it the fuck out of there.

Back at the desk, Mystic took another deep breath. Who exactly were these pirates anyway? Their faces seemed familiar, but it wasn't like she studied wanted posters and newspapers, she had better things to do! Perhaps she would look into it later, she didn't really have the time for it at the moment. It looked like the men at table eight were starting to harass the women at the neighboring table. Mystic was not going to stand for it, not on her watch. (Though that was ironic, given how that pirate had just spoken to her. She was just more protective of others. She probably ought to do something about him too.)

She calculated table eight's bill as fast as she could, then made her way over and dropped it on their table. "Here's your bill, it's time for you to leave."

"We're not finished, bitch! Fuck off!"

"You are no longer welcome at this establishment, you need to get out." She turned on her heel and left. At worst, they would lose a bit of money over this if the men left without paying. Well, no, there could be worse. But-

Mystic gasped as cold liquid was dumped over her head. She wiped her face off and turned slowly as someone yelled at her. It was one of the men, about a head taller than her and of an average build. He was cursing her out, but she didn't process any of the words he spoke. His buddies looked very smug indeed from where they sat at the table, as if his actions would do anything for them. She flicked her eyes up at him, he was too busy ranting to notice the flicker of anger in her eyes.

Perhaps she could have thought her actions through more, but Mystic decided to just act. She wasn't dealing with this, at least, not in the 'nice customer service' way anymore.

She lifted her left leg slightly and jumped, landing on her left and kicking the man in the face with her right. Her heel made full contact with the center of his face and he flew back and fell to the ground, nose bleeding profusely. His friends could only watch slack-jawed as she dragged their now unconscious friend by the foot and throw him out the front door.

"GET OUT!" She commanded, glaring the men down. They stared at her a second then scrambled out the door after their friend, screaming how she would regret this. She slammed the door, cutting off their threats. It would be pretty hard to make her regret this, it felt pretty damn good, kicking him in the face.

The patrons applauded as she re-entered, and if she wasn't going crazy, it looked like the pirates raised a glass to her too. She gave a tired smile and a salute to the tavern, before fetching some rags and hot water. She didn't want a bloodstain setting into the wood, her aunt would make her sand and refinish the area if it were still visible in the morning.


	3. Making Plans

"Heya, Squeaky!"

Mystic rolled her eyes but smiled as she greeted the now-familiar patrons. For the fourth night in a row, she was working the evening in the tavern, and for the fourth night in a row, the Kid Pirates had shown up in the tavern for dinner. She'd normally be annoyed at all the extra shifts (and she still was), but at least it made the evenings with the pirates were smoother since one person had consistently been working with them.

She had kept their best table clear just in case they hadn't left the island yet, which now paid off as the pirates filled the seats. It seemed they brought more and more of the crew every time they visited. They must really enjoy their food if they kept coming back. She had finally asked the pirates their names yesterday night, and after browsing wanted posters for several hours, she nearly screamed when she saw how much they were worth, and had a small crisis when she saw their record; the Kid Pirates had not just one but _two_ members in the Worst Generation who actively lived up to that title, and the other members of their crew weren't a small laughing matter either.

And yet, they hadn't caused any trouble on this island, which seemed contradictory to their reputation. Though, was there even anything worth causing a commotion over on this small island? Not that she was aware of. Perhaps they were just stocking up and making repairs to their ship? Everyone has to take a break to get the normal stuff done sometimes.

"Evening, boys. How are y'all?" A chorus of positive affirmations arose to her greeting, though Haikei just groaned and face planted into the table. She set a small umbrella in his drink when she handed it to him. It tended to cheer up anyone with a good sense of humor, and he was no exception.

She set Captain Kid's glass and the bottle of whiskey down in front of him. She'd found this was easier in the long run. He could basically drink his weight in alcohol and still come out fairly sober, so he was completely capable of pouring his own drinks since he drank so much. Taking out her notepad, she started taking orders. 

"Busy tonight, Squeaky?"

"Just about average. Though, I have to ask, where did Squeaky come from?" Mystic asked as she dropped the last drink in front of Killer and put stuck a straw in it.

"From the first night, when you squeaked like a mouse when Haikei scared you," Captain Kid smirked and knocked back his first round. Heat, Wire, and Oscar chuckled as she huffed but smiled and shook her head in good humor.

"In that case, I better start calling you howler, Captain." She moved away to take the rest of their orders, making a large circle and ending back at the captains seat. He was still scowling by the time she made it back to him.

"Why howler?"

Mystic grinned mischievously. "Oh, because you remind me of a howler monkey. Loud and stinky."

He proved her point and bellowed as his crew lost it, guffawing and choking on their drinks. Mystic chuckled and turned to Killer. "Anything for you tonight?" He shook his head.

"He'll have some cabbage rolls," Killer ordered for his captain. She nodded and headed back to the kitchen.

Thus far, the masked man had never eaten with his crewmates and had gotten a drink for himself twice. When he used a straw the first time, the image of the Massacre Soldier using a straw to sip his beer made Mystic smile. It still did. He probably just didn't want to remove his helmet in public, but seeing a ruthless criminal drinking his alcohol from a straw just tickled her pink.

With the first rounds of food ready, she made her way back to the pirates, but something seemed off about the top members of the crew. They were huddled together, talking in voices much quieter compared to usual.

It wasn't her business, it was a private conversation. Why else would they take efforts to hide their voices? But she had heard plenty of 'private conversations' over the years and she not only knew how _not_ to pay attention, but how to listen and keep quiet about what she _did_ hear. She interacted with those she was delivering meals too, but she strained to hear what they whispered.

_"Tonight, 2 a.m. That will be the best time."_

_"Why so damn early?"_

_"That's when they change security. That will give us the most time to get to the vault."_

_"We should just charge in."_

_"We've gone over this, we-"_

The voice cut off as she drew nearer.

"We can't just let Killer go hungry!" Heat said loudly. "Squeaky, y'all got any good pasta dishes?" Mystic went along with Heat's attempt to pretend they weren't planning a robbery.

"I could whip something up. Any preferences?"

Killer's mask turned slightly to Heat in what she imagined was a withering glare before turning back to her. "Long thin noodles, no curry, any vegetables or meat have to be julienne cut."

Mystic took a quick note and gave a short bow. "You got it."

Back in the kitchen, she set some angel hair pasta on to boil and passed the dish requirements to her uncle.

A security change at 2 a.m., and a vault to get to. How interesting. It wasn't often she got the opportunity to see something like this in person. Could she figure out where they were headed by that time to watch? Sounded like a good challenge to her.


	4. Down to Business

Mystic was crouched on the roof, watching for activity in the silent street below. She had drawn several conclusions over the last few hours and just hoped her intuition was correct.

She had initially realized it was odd that the Kid Pirates kept showing up at her aunt's tavern, especially since there were plenty of taverns closer to the port than theirs. _However_ , if they were getting people used to their presence in order to lower suspicion, that would easily explain their behavior. That meant wherever they were staking out was close by. And from the top of the roof of the bell tower, she had a good view of the major spots she suspected they could hit.

The first presumed target was the city's main bank, just a block or two north of her. Yeah, very obvious, plenty of pros and cons, but it'd be stupid if that were their target and she disregarded it because it seemed too obvious.

The second was the armory, a bit further northwest than the bank. Officially, they only crafted weaponry for the Marines and other World Government-associated kingdoms. But any local knew that unofficially, they provided weapons for anyone who could pay.

The third and final of her assumed targets was the Elkridge Manor, to the southwest. The Elkridge family ran one of the most prestigious travel companies in the Grandline, offering safe passage to the civilian travelers of the world. If you believed the rumors, the reason they could offer safe passage was due to dirty dealings with several underground organizations. They were very notorious and _very_ rich.

Any of those three locations had good security, and thus a guard change for the pirates to exploit. Mystic squinted at her watch in the moonlight. It was 1:45. They should be showing up any minute now. She scanned the streets for any movement. Twice now she had been faked out: once by a cat, a second time by a drunk singing in the street. Slightly embarrassing, but nobody would ever know.

All she needed was- _Bingo!_ Movement, parallel to her two streets west! Was it them? It was hard to tell in the dark. But there were multiple figures, and they were all headed south. She couldn't think of anyone else who would have a reason to be out in a group at this hour, so she decided to follow her gut. She carefully slipped down to the ground and headed south, not wanting them to spot her.

After a few blocks, she turned west and moved over two streets. Just before she reached the street she'd seen the figures walking down, Mystic paused, listening intently to her surroundings. No voices, but there was the receding sound of footfall even further south. Peering carefully around the corner, she caught glimpse of their silhouettes. At the front of the pack, she recognized one of the silhouettes; the mechanical arm of Captain Kid. She smiled triumphantly and waited for them to gain more distance before crossing the street. If they were headed southwest, then they were most likely going to hit Elkridge. There wasn't any need to risk getting caught by them if she could simply beat them there.

Once she moved as far west as she desired, she turned south and started running. Unless they decided to run too, she should be able to beat them there and get into position without getting caught by anyone, guard, or pirate. 

Her plan was to watch them go in and follow close behind if she could, watch the heist go down, and leave either before or after they left. If the vault was big and held a lot of loot, she would leave before. But if it was small, she wouldn't have enough time to leave without them noticing her, so she'd just hide and wait until they left. And, if anything went wrong, she could always plead 'forced to assist' or something like that. She had plenty of witnesses who could attest that the pirates had been visiting her aunt's tavern for several days, it was a believable story. 

Mystic smiled as she reached the edge of town and spotted the manor in the distance. No figures in the fields, she couldn't hear anything behind her. She guessed she had enough time to make it to the manor if she stuck to the main path for a few minutes before taking to the canal.

Checking over her shoulder one last time, she raced into the dark. She didn't want them to see or hear her running, so she'd have to get to the canal quickly. It was empty this time of year and came very close to the manor. Mystic slowed down and watched the ground as she turned off the main path and bit back a giggle. This was turning out to be very exciting, and things were going very smoothly so far. Sure, a lot could go wrong, but this was the kind of experience she had been hoping for! The Kid Pirates were infamous, so this should be a memorable robbery. Mystic couldn't wait to see the crew in action!


	5. For Goodness Sake!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _aaaaa, hi? uh, just here to say I may change the main characters name? still deciding on that_   
>  _anyway, thanks for reading, hope you're enjoying!_

Mystic breathed as soft and slowly as she could, focused intently on the two figures atop the wall in the dark. She didn't panic as they drew closer, she trusted the hiding place she chose between a rock and a bush. They wouldn't expect someone to be laying out in the open, and she doubted they could even see her from this distance anyway, so she wouldn't give them any reason to be suspicious. She was just another part of the landscape.

The spot she lay in was perhaps fifteen yards from the front gate of Elkridge manor. Now that she checked the guard's pattern, she realized there was something she hadn't taken into account.

 _What if the pirates left a guard at the front gates?_ They wouldn't want anyone coming or going before their work was complete, meaning she wouldn't be able to get in and out of the gate undetected.

She had two choices now. She could give up and go home.

Or, she could get in first.

Mystic didn't usually consider herself a quitter.

And so, as soon as she was in the guard's blind spot, she got up and moved closer to the wall. She moved in a crouch and kept close to shrubbery, constantly checking the guard's progress in their round. As soon as they reached the far north side of the wall, they would turn back and walk back toward her.

Bordering the wall the guards walked along was a hedge. Mystic remembered from seeing it in passing before. It was a fairly thick hedge, thick enough that she should be able to use it for cover. Whether she could climb the wall with or without the help of the hedge, she would have to wait and see. But she had to move quickly. The last few meters were all open ground, nowhere to hide or try to pass off as an animal if she was spotted. She glanced back at the guards, they were almost to the end of the wall. Sprinting across the grassy expanse, she slowed just enough to lay flat on her stomach next to the hedge. She crawled on her stomach under the branches, twisting between the trunks   
until she was completely hidden from the guards' view above.

She held still again, attempting to bring her breathing under control. Her next move would be right after the guards passed by again. Mystic figured she was about halfway between both ends of the wall, and so she began counting to give herself an estimate of how long she would have after they passed until they would show up again. She would have that much time to climb the wall, cross, get down and hide again.

Mystic frowned. No matter how long they took, that wasn't a good idea, not since she was unfamiliar with the terrain on the other side of the wall. But what other choice did she have?

A soft _whish_ broke the stillness, and two loud thumps followed. Mystic slowly turned her head until she was looking back across the moor. Several silhouettes were framed against the starry sky, hulking and sharp, danger wrapped in leather and spikes.

The Kid Pirates had arrived.

The figure at the front of the pack raised his arm, and the screech of metal and crack of stone further disturbed the night, followed by a monstrous crash. Mystic couldn't see what they had done, but any hope of stealth was now gone. She almost rolled her eyes but realized she should have known better after the crew's behavior in the tavern. Subtle was _not_ their style, literally or metaphorically.

"Oscar, keep watch." Mystic recognized Captain Kid's voice. A grunt later, and the heavy footsteps disappeared.

One guard. If she remembered right, Oscar was the one with the scars over his eyes. Well, time was limited. It was time to make her move.

She inched closer to the wall and began to climb its surface. The stones were irregular enough that she could almost get some decent handholds. Almost. Her fingers ached from trying to grasp the ledges mere centimeters wide. 

When her head peaked over the top of the hedge, there was perhaps only half a meter until the top of the wall. She peered over in the direction of the gate. The top of Oscar's curly mohawk poked above the edge of the hedge, but he was looking away from the mansion. As long as she didn't make any noise, sneaking over the wall into the grounds should be a cinch.

Stifling a grunt, she hoisted herself over the edge and hid behind the ledge. A quick glance around the- holy CRAP! The courtyard was completely wrecked, the mangled remains of the gate illuminated by the light pouring from the hole in the wall of the manor it created. 

Mystic shook herself. This was no time to stop, she was out in the open! Dropping and rolling on the ground, she thanked herself for indulging her brother's whim and helping him learn how to 'ninja roll'. She crossed the courtyard without managing to trip on any debris and with a final glance behind her, slipped into the manor through the recently renovated entrance.


	6. Prove You Can Do It

With how loud the Kid Pirates were, it took Mystic no time at all to find them. From the corridor, she peered into a massive library that every instinct screamed at her to explore, but that would have to wait for another day. With no one in her immediate sight, she slipped in and peeked through the bookshelves. Again she saw no one, but heard voices to her right. Taking care to make sure she never saw them (theater rule #1, if you can see the audience, they can see you), she went left and circled back around toward them. As she searched for a good observation spot, she tuned into their conversation.

"We should just blow it up!"

"And destroy all the paper money inside?"

There was a frustrated snarl and Mystic flinched at the large crash. Peeking between shelves, Mystic finally saw the pirates.

Captain Kid was pacing back and forth punching anything that got too close into his path. The tallest one, Wire, was fiddling with a gargantuan safe, and Heat stood not far behind. The rest of the crew stood at the ready with their weapons drawn.

"We weren't expecting it to be made of Sea Stone, but we can still get it open with a little extra time, Master Kid." Heat reassured his captain. "But we do need to do our job a little better. We'll handle things here, go on!"

_Do our job better?_

Mystic shrunk back into the shadows when she realized Captain Kid was collecting the rest of his men and leaving. Thankfully, they headed the way opposite of her. She could still hear them though, they started shouting and sounds of general destruction shook the air.

She turned her attention back to the final two pirates. They were speaking softly with each other as they attempted to open the safe. _What kind of safe is it? What type of lock? Did it have a combination? A key? I hope it's a combination! I don't see those a lot!_

But from where she hid, Wire's back covered what he was doing. She would have to get closer. Walking further away again, she crossed between shelves until she would have been direct to the pirates' left and reapproached. Wire was on his knees, fiddling with two wires poking inside the lock. Heat stood behind giving him advice as he fiddled with the lock. _Dang it, just another key lock! Well, I'll still watch. I wonder how fast they are?_

"Jiggle it a bit."

"I am."

"Then jiggle it a bit more."

"Why don't you fucking- Guards!"

Heat drew his swords and they clashed together with a guard's own blade. She hadn't even noticed him! Mystic's jaw dropped when Heat opened his mouth and breathed fire. The guard screamed and leapt back, and barely brought his sword back up in time to parry Heat's swords.

_Fire breath? How? ,,, must be why they call him Heat._

The two became locked in combat and from what Mystic could tell, Heat had the upper hand. She was quickly enraptured by their duel, though she peeked over at Wire every now and again. He still hadn't managed to pick it and was getting visibly tense with each passing moment. Even if it had many pins, it shouldn't be taking this long. Hadn't he ever picked a lock before?

She glanced back at Heat and nearly gasped. Two more guards had shown up! He might've been a pirate, and they were mid-robbery, but she couldn't help but root for the blue-haired man. Heat sent another blast of flames at them, but one on the side leapt inside of Heat's defense and slashed his arm. The flames choked out but then Wire was there, shoving the man away with his pitchfork as if he were pitching hay. Wire and Heat moved together to finish off the guards. The way they moved was perfectly in sync; Mystic could tell they'd been working together for years. The ease with which they covered each other's movements, they just _knew_ how the other would move.

Her eyes flicked away from the fight back to the vault, then back to the men. Surely, the vault wasn't _that_ difficult to crack?

Almost involuntarily, she walked to the edge of the bookcase. Another step and they'd be able to see her.

Mystic peered around the corner. They were all too busy fighting to notice her. She checked her path to the vault, then watched the men as she inched out. She was nervous to be out in the open, but she felt some _need_ to see if she could do this. If any of the men noticed her, they paid her no mind.

She now stood next to the vault, it was easily twice as tall as her, but the keyhole was about chest level for her. She picked up his tools and raised an eyebrow at them. They were two wires bent into weird shapes. Perhaps he would have had an easier time picking the lock if he had shaped the wires correctly in the first place. With a little effort, she re-shaped them into much simpler tools. One got bent in half to make it thicker and sturdier, then bent the last centimeter at a 90-degree angle. The second wire was straightened out then bent at a slight angle.

A final glance over her shoulder and she went to work. When she touched the vault, a wave of vertigo hit her. She really should have eaten more than just an apple and a few crackers this morning. Oh well, she'd make it, she always did.

Closing her eyes to concentrate, she put a bit of pressure on the newly made tensioner and pushed the small hook in. She felt for the tiny clicks and pushed further and further in. She was sure she had moved all of the pins, but it still wasn't moving. _Unless..._

She choked back on the hook and pushed it as far as she could until she felt the back of the lock. Pushing a little bit, she found she only met some resistance. She smirked and pushed against the end and turned the tensioner.

 _Clever little bastards. They added a small second lock normally only used in household doors!_ _What high-end criminal would think that a simple household lock was also in use?_

With a click, the lock came open and she pulled the vault door open to peer inside. She stared slack-jawed at the stacks of beri inside. Mystic had never seen that much money in her life! She doubted she could even properly estimate how much money was here. Not only that but were those jewels and gold in the corner?

Well, she had proved to herself she could open it. Time to hide again. Mystic started to slowly shut the door, giving a wistful last glance at the wealth inside. Curse her morality, but she had a job and didn't need that much money. Nobody did, really. (Though she would admit having a little bit extra money to fund her studies and travel would be nice.)

A vice-like grip fastened on her arm and wrenched her around, and she found herself staring into the angry scarred face of Eustass 'Captain' Kid.

_"What the fuck are you doing?"_


	7. ,,, oh no

Mystic tore at the pirate's iron grip on her arm. "Let go!" 

Suddenly, his face morphed from pure rage to confusion then to confused rage. A low growl escaped his throat.

"Squeaky? Where the fuck did 'ya come from?"

"I don't know, outside?!" She hissed sarcastically at him, "Will you let go?" Mystic twisted her wrist as she pulled away and managed to snatch her hand from his grasp and backed up. She caught a glimpse of Heat and Wire flanking him. They scowled at her but also appeared just as confused as their captain. 

"What are you doing here, _Squeaky?_ "

"Thought I'd try to watch a good heist, though that obviously didn't amount to much."

A vein throbbed in Captain Kid's forehead. "What was that?"

A shout tore his attention away and white uniforms burst into the room. _The marines!_

Mystic bolted; she needed to get out! And she managed maybe two steps before a strong arm seized her. Her feet left the floor and the world spun far too quickly, and her face smacked upside down into a fluffy red coat. There was pressure on her stomach and her legs were held tightly together. She pushed against the fluff until she wasn't blinded by red fur anymore. She was staring at the floor, and a look over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the red hair of Captain Kid.

She was strung over Eustass Captain Kid's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Was he abducting her?

_Shit._

Mystic tried to right herself, only for Kid to adjust his grip and she face-planted into his back again. She pushed away from his back and braced herself with her elbows to keep the fur out of her mouth. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? PUT ME DOWN, YOU LITTLE-"

"FIRE!"

Mystic shrieked and covered her head and neck, faceplanting in the coat a third time. (Unfortunately, some got in her mouth this time. She just about threw up. He _really_ needed to wash it!) But the marines were SHOOTING at the pirates! And she was WITH the pirates! Why were they open firing? Couldn't they see she was a hostage!?

"WHAT THE HELL!" She screamed at the stupid justice behind her. "DON'T SHOOT ME YOU WASTELESS SEA RATS!" She had met some nice, well-intentioned marines in her time, but what the HELL were they doing? Captain Idiot had the audacity to laugh at her.

"What's so funny, tulip?" She barked up at him. _Wow. Of all the weak insults to come up with_ -

"What was that, Squeaky?" He glared over his shoulder at her, and she nearly grinned. _Score!  
_

"I said you looked like a damn fucking tulip! Would you rather I call you a pansy?" He said something, but she couldn't hear what it was over the next round of bullets. Mystic was on his back! She was going to get hit before they ever got a hit on Captain Kid!

"REPEL!" Kid shouted, and all the guns in the marine's hands launched away. Mystic's jaw went slack. _Wait, was that-?_

They plunged into the night once again, racing across the manor grounds. Men were falling in step behind their captain. Anyone close enough to see between Wire and Heat and the massive bags they were carrying gave her a quizzical look.

_Wait, bags? Where did those come from? What's in them?_

"Uh, Boss? Who is that?"

"It's the waitress from the tavern."

Mystic's eye nearly twitched. "I'm not a waitress, I'm a cook!" she snapped.

"Whatever. Where'd she come from?"

"My mother," And because she apparently had no sense of self-preservation, "Where did y'all come from? You look like what the cat dragged out of the warlord's outdated wardrobes."

Several of the men snickered though a few gave indignant shouts. Mystic yelped when Kid delivered a sharp smack to the back of her legs. _That hurt, bastard!_

She raised an elbow to hit him back, but a hand caught her wrist. Heat shook his head at her and didn't release her wrist until she stopped trying to wrench her hand from his grasp, and flopped against Kid's back again. Mystic glared and growled at the back of Kid's head. It was getting extremely difficult to hold herself up as he ran.

"Why did you grab me?"

"We got unfinished business."

"What are you talking abo-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-"

Mystic latched onto the stupid coat as best she could. They were flying through the air! She could see the ocean below! Did he jump off the cliff behind the manor? _WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS GUY!_

Kid came to a sudden stop and his shoulder dug painfully into her stomach and then he dropped her to the ground. The back of her head smacked the deck and her vision went dark at the edges. Grimacing and hissing, she rolled over to try to get her vertigo under control. After she got past the sting from hitting her head, the texture of the ground caught her attention. It was worn out wood, smooth from years of being walked on, and it swayed slightly beneath her. Horror gripped her as she realized where she was. Past the railing, she could see the lights of Elkwood Manor, and far beyond that, the lights of the town.

She was at sea.

She was aboard the Kid Pirates ship.


	8. What To Do?

_No. No. No no no no nO NO NO NO NOOOOO!!!_

This couldn't be happening! Tomorrow night was her first night off of work in a week! She was going to spend the whole day reading! Maybe hide in the forest for a few hours in the woods! Make cookie dough and eat most of it raw! AND she had work the day after! Not to mention she had to feed her cat! The last thing Mystic needed right now was to be kidnapped!

Okay, they weren't far from shore yet. She'd just have to swim back to the island! Hopefully, she didn't have a concussion from hitting her head on the deck.

Getting her feet under her, she swung a leg over the railing and cautiously eyed the dark water. The ship hadn't hit any rocks, so hopefully, she wouldn't either. She swung her other leg and took a deep breath, and let go- a large hand grabbed her arm. _Crap._

Mystic was yanked back to the other side of the railing before she could even blink.

"Nice try, Squeaky." Captain Kid held her left forearm against the railing as something cold and hard wrapped firmly around them. She rammed her knee into his side as hard as she could, but the bastard didn't even flinch. His eyes flicked to her and she unconsciously leaned away. "Dare you to try that again," He growled, then stomped away, barking out orders to his crew.

She tugged on her arm as soon as he looked in the other direction, but it didn't budge. She rubbed then tapped her finger against the restraint to find it was made of metal. How did he bend it so easily? She couldn't pry the restraint away, the metal was too sturdy despite just having been wrapped around her arm. Shouldn't the integrity be compromised after being bent like that?

Setting aside the issue of not being able to move around, she turned her attention to her new surroundings. Men rushed around the deck, fulfilling their captain's orders, and barely gave her a second glance. Was this normal for them? She couldn't remember what their usual crime list included. No, she didn't want to think about that! Anxiety and panic were brushing the edge of her consciousness, but she couldn't afford to have a panic attack right now. She needed a clear head if she wanted to get out of this!

"BRING HER 'ROUND, BOYS, AND GET READY FOR A FIGHT!" The men cheered in response to their captain's rallying cry, and Captain Kid's words broke through her frenzied thoughts. 

_Did he say_ fight _?_

Mystic was torn. On the one hand (literally), she was immobilized and therefore extremely vulnerable to any battle that might occur. On the other hand, she didn't get to see pirates fighting very often. Somewhere in the back of her mind, it crossed her that this wasn't something she should be torn about, but she was curious and there wasn't much she could change about that.

Turning her eyes to the surrounding sea, she searched for the enemy the pirates would be taking on. How could they see anything in the dark? The moonlight was barely enough to illuminate the deck, but the ocean swallowed everything in darkness! The tiny bit of light from the island did nothing to help her night vision. And then she spotted it. The outline of a ship against the island. And if her eyes didn't deceive her, it was getting closer. Suddenly, an optimistic thought struck her.

_They could help me!_

She would either have to try to draw their attention and hope they could rescue her or try to break free and hope they'd do the rest. Sitting still didn't seem like a viable option. So that left option two.

**_BOOM!!!_ **

Mystic flinched at the first cannon fire. This was quite a jam she had gotten herself into. Hopefully, she could get out of it in one piece.


	9. Chip Away

Mystic glared at her arm. Why had she never learned to dislocate her thumb? It would make breaking free of this cuff so much easier. Well, there was another item to add to her bucket list of things she wanted to learn to do.

She clung to the railing desperately as ship shook with cannon fire. Cannons boomed, the sound left an after-ringing in her ears. The opposing ship was now close enough she could nearly see their insignia on the sail. And yet, she was getting nowhere with her escape. The metal wouldn't bend. Her hand wouldn't fit through. The railing was too sturdy. What she needed was something to break the railing with. She needed a _weapon._ Preferably, an axe or a sword.

Oh _seas,_ that reminded her; She couldn't remember if she had put away her uncle's axe or not! If she left it out in the elements, her uncle was going to kill her!

 _FOCUS!_ She mentally slapped herself. She could worry about if her uncle would kill her _after_ she made sure the pirates didn't kill her.

A call caught her ear, the words indistinguishable over the roar of the sea. The voice carried from beyond the pirate's ship, from the fast-approaching ship. A silhouette stood upon the railing and a raucous cry rose above the crashing waves. Looks like they were ready to fight too.

Something flashed in the corner of Mystic's eye, she turned and found herself staring at a very fancy pair of boots. Looking up, she found the boots owner was also wearing booty shorts, a crop top, and a big billowy cape. A mustache, spear, and tie tied around their head topped the whole look off.

"You fiends dare attack Elkridge Manor? We'll show you what it means to pick a fight with the Master!" They declared boldly and brandished their spear. Mystic knew she shouldn't judge, but the fellow didn't exactly seem like they stood a chance against the Kid Pirates. Their presence wasn't exactly intimidating or inspiring. Her thought was confirmed when the spear was jerked from their hands by an invisible force and caught by Captain Kid.

"I'll show you what it means to pick a fight with me," he sneered and broke the spear over his knee. At least, he made the motion to. The spear vanished from Kid's grasp, and so did Mx. Fancy Boots next to her.

"So rude, this is not how you begin a proper duel!" Mx. Fancy Boots called from the upper deck railing. "I'll also have to teach you some manners while I am at it." They pointed their spear at the Captain. "Are you ready to receive a good licking, boy?"

"Lick me bastard and I'll cut your fucking tongue off!" Kid pounced on the challenger, but they vanished. Their image began to flicker around the deck, and their voice echoed all around.

"Cut off my tongue? Many have tried, but none have been able! You think you can do what no one else can, Eustass "Captain" Kid?"

"I sure as hell can and will!" He bellowed. "You're looking at the future King of the Pirates. I'll do what no one else can!"

"Pirate King? A little whelp like you?" They scoffed, "Learn your place!" Across the deck, a pirate yelled out in pain and fell over. The Kid Pirates all began to yell and jump around, confused to their enemies location. Mystic wasn't sure, but if her guess was right, their enemy was moving extremely fast. Rather than try to whip her head around, she unfocused her eyes and tried to take in as much as possible. If they were making any pattern with their movements or attacks, Mystic couldn't tell. 

A howl of pain from across the ship, and the flickering stopped.

"About fucking time you showed up. What took so long?" Captain Kid growled. The body of Mx. Fancy Boots crumpled to the deck, and then another figure dropped lightly to the deck. Two blades and a helmet shone in the moonlight. Only one person she had seen in the Kid Pirates wore a helmet. Massacre Soldier Killer, the right hand and first mate of Captain Kid.

The helmet tilted sideways. "You moved in early."

"Eh, got there early. You get it?" Killer swung his blades into a reverse position, pulled something from his pocket and handed it to his captain.

"DON'T LET ANY OF THAT SCUM LIVE!" The opposing crew caterwauled and descended upon the Kid Pirates ship, but the captain and first mate just kept talking. The crew however leapt into action. They would take care of this one.

Metal rang, guns sang, men groaned and shrieked. The sound was completely new and unfamiliar and horrifying. Mystic was filled with morbid curiosity.

What was it like to be in the midst of a fight? What kind of close calls had they experienced? What was the mental impact of this kind of frequent violence? What was the line they wouldn't cross? What did it feel like to be shot? How did it feel to be run through with a sword? (She wondered if it was nearly bad as menstruating, she had some serious doubts, not that she was keen to compare the two any time soon.)

A body dropped to the deck close to her, she couldn't tell if they were dead or alive, pirate or third party. Or was she the third party in this scenario? _Whatever_. Perhaps they had a weapon on their person she could use to break the railing! Something seemed to be poking from their belt or pocket. Hoping for the best, she knelt down and reached with her foot to the body, stretching as far as the restraint allowed. It took several tries, and her arm was screaming at her in protest, but she slowly drew the object closer.

It was an axe! _Perfect!!!_

She got the handle close enough to grab, and held it close to her leg while she glanced around. The Kid Pirates foes were nearly finished off, she needed to hurry! With no time to loose, she swung the axe into the railing. No one seemed to pay her any mind, so she yanked the axe out and swung again, and again. When she weakened the rail enough she could make it creak by leaning against it, she adjusted her grip and stance. It would be awkward to swing across her body and arm, but she needed to do some damage on the other side if she wanted to get out. 

First swing!

_OWW!_

The handle hit her bicep, she should have seen that coming.

Okay, swing two!

_OWW, DANG IT_ _!_

That was going to leave a big bruise.

Mystic yanked the axe free again. It was fine. She hadn't cut herself, a bruise was better than death.

A third time!

Wood chips flew upon impact. She could do this!

"Kid, who is that?"

"Who?"

"The one destroying the railing?"

 _CRAP!_ Time was up! She swung a final time, but the axe was yanked from her hand. She whipped around. The captain and first mate were walking toward her. _Oh, sHIT!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A/N: lol, sorry, kinda a weird place to cut off, but it was this or do basically another chapter worth of writing, and it's been easier to keep them shorter for me. I'll have the new chapter up as soon as I can, but my schedule got a lot of extra work for march :3 so until then! *clifffhanger intensifies*_


	10. Try me!

"WHO THE FUCK LET HER GET AN AXE?" Kid yelled and stomped over, closely followed by Killer. Mystic desperately shoved against the rail, but she hadn't weakened the railing enough!

"Kid, is that the waitress from the tavern?" Killer sighed.

"I'm not a waitress!" Mystic snapped and shoved her body against the railing. It creaked and shifted a bit under her weight. Maybe she pushed against it hard enough, she could break it!

"Yeah, forgot about her for a minute. Quit breaking my ship!" Kid barked.

"Forgot about me? How do you forget you kidnapped someone!"

"I was busy," He gestured to the carnage across the deck. "Not like I was planning on kidnapping you."

Mystic threw her weight against the rail as she spoke. " ** _Seriously!_** you **_accidentally_** kidnapped me? Couldn't even do it on **_purpose?_** " The incompetency of these pirates was getting annoying. _Stupid railing! Why wouldn't it budge?!_

Kid growled and grabbed her arm to keep her from ramming the railing again. "Why were you at the manor?" 

"I just wanted to watch y'all at work!" Mystic snapped and pulled against his iron grip. " _And yet, I ended up doing it for y'all..._ "

Kid's eyes narrowed at her.

"Come again?"

Any sense of self-preservation she previously had left promptly flew out the window. She did **not** care anymore. She was _done._

"I said, _I_ did all the work because, _a-PPARENTLY_ , Y'ALL can't even crack a _SAFE_." She snarled.

Mystic swore she saw his last thread of patience snap. Good to know they were on the same page. She narrowed her eyes at him. She could feel a storm coming. _You think you can be nasty? Bring it on, bastard._

**"WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BITCH-**

**"DON'T YOU CALL ME A BITCH, BITCH-**

**"MY CREW KNOWS HOW TO OPEN A DAMN FUCKING VAULT-**

**"I OPENED THAT DAMN VAULT IN LESS THAN THREE MINUTES-**

**"BUT YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST FUCKING _WALTZ_ IN HERE- **

**"IT WAS FREAKING EASY SINCE Y'ALL WERE SO _STUPIDLY_ LOUD-**

**"AND TAKE THE CREDIT FOR OUR WORK? STEAL WHAT'S OURS-**

**"I WASN'T STEALING IT AND YOU IDIOTS SURE AS HELL WEREN'T-**

**"YOU SNEAKY LITTLE BITCH! YOU'RE WORSE THAN A FUCKING-**

**"IF YOU CAN'T OPEN IT, YOU DON'T DESERVE TO HAVE IT! I CAN'T BELIEVE-**

**"RAT! YOU THINK YOU CAN LEECH OFF OUR WORK-**

**"YOU CALL YOURSELF PIRATES! Y'ALL ARE INCOMPETENT IDIOTS-**

**"I OUGHTA HANG YOU UP BY YOUR-**

"Kid." With just a word from Killer, the Captain fell silent long enough for someone else to get a word in.

"She opened the safe, boss," Wire spoke up. "Not us."

Kid considered Wire's admission silently. Mystic strained against Kid's grip as he leaned in closer to her.

" _Why did you open the damn vault?"_ His quiet voice was nearly scarier than his yelling.

Mystic studied his fierce orange eyes. The intensity of his gaze nearly made her falter. Nearly.

"To see if I could."

He blinked then snorted. "You're calling us idiots? What kind of stupid do you have to be to try to hijack a pirates raid?"

"At least I knew how to do it!" Mystic jerked harshly away from him, and this time he let go of her arm. She flew back and hit into the railing-

**_CRACK!-_ **

and suddenly the railing was gone and she was falling. She slapped the water painfully, but at least she was off the ship!

She kicked to the surface...

She tried to move again. Legs... work? Arms? Anything?

Mystic couldn't move. Her body refused to listen to her mind.

What was happening!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _A/N: ah yes, my struggle of figuring out how to format an argument where two people are just yelling right over the top of one another. this is a test to see how this comes across. I'm actually wrapping this first fic up, but a follow-up will be coming soon! if yall are interested, watch the series this is a part of, more works will be added to it in the future! thanks for reading yall!_  
>  edit: oh wait, that made it sound like this was the end, it isn't, there's still a tad more! sorry xP


	11. I Didn't Know

Mystic's lungs burned; she couldn't have been in the water for very long, but every second was an eternity when her limbs remained unresponsive.

Exhaustion like she never experienced dragged at every fiber of her being as she sank into the depths.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Did something happen when her head slammed the deck? Had she injured her neck when she hit the water? This made no sense!

She felt like she could move, and yet she couldn't even flail her limbs around... Perhaps this was what paralysis felt like?

.

.

.

.

.

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.

.

Water pressure was building, the cold weighed heavily on her skin.

She couldn't see the moon above the surface anymore, the water was pure, frigid darkness.

.

.

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.

.

.

.

.

.

Mystic knew how to swim! She didn't want to die like this! Drowning when she knew how to swim?

Her brothers would laugh their butts off if they heard.

But who was going to tell them?

.

.

.

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.

.

Seawater found its way down her throat, the urge to cough along with the burn for oxygen made everything so much worse.

.

.

.

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.

This was it.

She was going to die in the cold depths of the ocean.

No one would know what happened to her. She'd just be forgotten. All because she thought watching some pirates at work was a _splendid_ idea.

.

.

.

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.

.

Something warm grabbed her waist. _Great_! Probably a monstrous sea creature about to eat her! She couldn't even struggle before she got digested, what a way to go.

.

.

.

.

But then she was moving up. Her face broke the surface and her lungs got to work hacking up water. Mystic was hauled out of the water and dropped unceremoniously to the deck of the ship, and she coughed and vomited seawater until she could properly breathe again. Wait, she could move again? What the hell?

"And we're supposed to be the idiots?" Kid sneered.

"Yeah, you are," Mystic spat out and started another coughing fit. Kid snarled at her. Maybe she should tone it down. One near-death experience was enough for one night by Mystic's standards.

Water splashed her and the deck as Killer wrung his hair out. "Don't kill her just after I saved her via your request."

"She must have a death wish since she tried to jump into the water earlier without knowing how to swim," Heat pointed out.

She pushed herself up off the deck with a great deal of difficulty considering the piece of railing still attached to her arm and threw her fiercest glare at the blue-haired fire-breathing freak. "I know how to swim!"

"Is that what you call swimming?" Kid jeered, "Because that's what I call drowning." Several crew members in the vicinity laughed at their captains oh so clever joke, but the only few who stayed close were Killer, Heat, and Wire: Captain Kid's top officers.

"Shut up!" It took everything in her to keep a glower on her face. She was angry and embarrassed, but she had never exactly had a super scary face.

"So when exactly was the last time you went "swimming"?" Wire joined in deriding her. She bit back an angry snarl and looked away. What did it matter when she went swimming last? Though... how long _had_ it been? Mystic thought back through memories of swimming and sun, warm water and blistering skin. When was the last time she went swimming for real? Was it when she went sailing with her cousins? Oyster hunting with her friend?

"Dunno, three or four years ago?" She muttered to herself, "But I've known how to swim since I was a kid! You don't just forget how to swim!"

"You do if you eat a devil fruit."

Every thought she had vanished. Her mind was blank and empty for the first time she could remember in a while. No thoughts. No theories. Just blank confusion.

_"What?"_

"You can't swim if you've eaten a devil fruit." Killer repeated his statement, "Did you eat one?"

And then her mind flew into overdrive. The peace was nice while it lasted. But what exactly was he saying?

_Me? Eat a devil fruit? WHEN? No-_

"I-I think I'd remember eating a cursed fruit and getting weird powers!" The men all gave her skeptical looks. They had to believe her! What would she have to gain from lying about this? She stood up and clenched her fists (since folding her arms would be awkward with the railing on her arm.) "I haven't eaten a devil fruit!"

"Then why couldn't you swim?"

"I... must have... gotten stunned when I hit the water," Mystic tried. "Hitting my head on the deck and then slapping the water like that?"

Wire walked up and leaned down over her to get right in her face."Then what about when you opened that vault?"

The vault? Their words from earlier echoed in her mind.

_"...weren't expecting it to be made of Sea Stone..."_

The vault was made of sea stone. Devil fruit users were weak to the sea, and to sea stone. She had felt a wave of vertigo when she touched it and crouched down, but- "I didn't eat much today, I got dizzy when I crouched down is all."

Heat approached her and drew his sword. She backed away until her back hit the railing. _What was he doing?_ He lifted his sword and she flinched, raising her arms in a pathetic attempt to shield herself-

Something lightly rested on the top of her head, and a wave of vertigo rushed over her. Her limbs were heavy and she fell to her knees roughly, her legs unable to support her own weight. Heat crouched in front of her and lifted the pommel for her to see. A dark stone was set on the end, filling her gut with dread.

"Sea stone." He stood back up and sheathed his sword. He walked back to join the pirates, leaving her stunned on the deck.

"So, Squeaky. What devil fruit do you have?"

Captain Kid's words barely reached her, her thoughts were racing trying to compute the new information.

She had a devil fruit. The sea hated her now. She was cursed. She was a devil fruit user _._ And she didn't know what it was.

"I- I don't know."

"And you were calling us idiots?" Heat and Wire laughed at her along with their stupid captain. Killer remained silent, though she could practically feel his mocking gaze from beneath that emotionless helmet.

She hated them. She hated every single one of their stupid eyebrowless faces.


End file.
